


Why Don't You Talk?

by SuzuyaChan



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst and Fluff, M/M, imaginary friend!Levi, kid!ereri, kind of character death i guess, like past character death, this can be read romantically or platonically bc they're both quite young, thug!levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-07 01:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4243686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuzuyaChan/pseuds/SuzuyaChan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eleven year old Eren Jaeger has been a selective mute for the last three years, he speaks to nobody; well, nobody real at least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why Don't You Talk?

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first prompt I've written from [[here](http://oh-my-levi.tumblr.com/post/122887246734/hi-first-time-doing-this-so-what-if-eren-is-a)]. If you have a prompt you'd like written then send it to me on tumblr [[here](http://oh-my-levi.tumblr.com/ask)] and I'll do it if I get the chance/inspiration
> 
> -Year Seven is age 11-12
> 
> \- A selective mute is someone who is physically able to speak but does not for some reason (often as a result of some kind of trauma).
> 
> -There is some angst. That is a warning.
> 
> Not all of my writing is on AO3 so if you wanna check out my other stuff I've recently (it's still being formatted etc) created a fic page for my writing [[here](http://oh-my-levi.tumblr.com/fanfic)]
> 
> (I'm not a huge fan of how this starts but eh stick with it)

_Did you hear about the new kid?_

_What new-_

_Yeah I did!_

_I heard he couldn't-_

_Is it true he can't_ _-_

_That’s what I heard!_

_That’s weird_

_He's weird_

_It’s not that he can’t-_

_Oh?_

_He just doesn’t want to._

_Why not?_

_I don’t know_

_Because he's weird_

_Let’s ask him_

_Yeah!_

_Good idea!_

_Let’s do it!_

“Eren, why don’t you talk?”

The brunet looked up from his desk at his classmates clustered around him before looking straight back down at his work; there wasn’t anything he could do to stop them and he knew it. It would be a matter of time before they all got bored of asking, he just needed to wait it out.

It had been a week since Eren had started his new high school – he’d technically left the last school of his own free will, but in reality he’d been forced to leave; apparently it was expensive to exclude a student and given that it would make getting a new school place more difficult Eren’s parents had gone along with it. It hadn’t been his fault; at least not really. It had been half way through year seven and some shitty kids had been using him as their slave – and he’d kept with it; taking all of their orders in complete silence. He’d thought it would be easier, that it would get them off his back and even stop them from victimising someone else. It sucked. Of course it did. But he didn’t really think they were bad people. Well, not until they put the blame on him when they stole from the school’s charity fund.

The students around him hadn’t moved. They simply kept staring at him, awaiting an answer that he would never give. A hand smacked down on the table in front of him and he flinched a little, but kept his eyes down; he knew acknowledging them too much would make it worse.

“We asked you a question,” a voice pointed out and there was a chorus of agreement. “It’s rude not to-”

The door swung open and the teacher entered, effectively dispersing and silencing the crowd before Eren’s desk; he sighed slightly with relief as the lesson began.

It had taken Eren all of two days to find a relatively secluded place in the school to spend his breaks and lunchtimes – a long, thin walk in cupboard in the English department with shelves of books piled to the ceiling and a table at the end next to the window. The brunet liked it there; it was quiet, peaceful and the air was permeated with the smell of old books. He sat on the desk, sliding back until he could lean against the window and rubbing the palms of his hands into his eyes whilst huffing.

“Y’know it ain’t ya eyes that are the problem,” came a voice and Eren moved his hands so he could see Levi leaning against the shelves of books and looking at him apathetically. “Y’need to get ya shit together, Eren, y’wanna get chucked out again?” He glared up at the boy but said nothing. “What ya gone shy with me an’ all?”

“No,” he said a little tersely but Levi just smirked at him, pushing his black hair back and scratching a little at his undercut.

“Good,” he replied. “Well, what ya gonna fuckin’ do, then? An’ don’t ya dare say wait till it fuckin’ dies down, tha’s never worked before.” Eren huffed at him; that had been exactly his plan.

“Still rude, I see.”

“Still chickenshit.”

“Rude and _small_ ,” he said and the other boy raised an eyebrow.

“S’not my fault ya imagination can’t cope with makin’ me grow,” he shot back and Eren went quiet again. It was stupid and he knew it; Levi wasn’t real, it wasn’t exactly new news to him. But still, remembering that the closest person in the world to you was now just a projection by your own screwed up brain can be pretty damn depressing.

Eren vaguely registered Levi moving towards him, but was still shocked when he felt a large weight on his lap and looked down to see the smaller boy with his arms crossed and leaning on Eren’s legs his eyes staring up at him through black hair.

“I could have imagined anyone, literally anyone, and yet here you are again,” scoffed Eren, trying to hold up his façade of cool.

“An’ here I am again,” Levi repeated; grey eyes boring into Eren’s green ones. “Ya don’t hav’ta keep this shit up with me, y’know?”

“What shit?” asked Eren defensively but the other boy just arched an eyebrow.

“Are ya really gonna do this?” he replied and Eren huffed at him.

“Whatever. Get off, you’re heavy,” he complained and Levi made a face.

“Heavy? What the fuck? How?” Eren shrugged, realising that it was probably more than a little weird that he could physically feel a figure created by his own imagination. “Tha’s some sixth sense shit right there,” the other boy commented and Eren rolled his eyes, before pushing back the hair that had fallen over Levi’s face.

“You really are gonna have to get off, I need to go to my next class,” he pointed out, giving Levi a small shove when he just flopped his head down against Eren’s lap and groaned.

“Ereeeen,” he complained when the taller boy gave him another shove.

“How am I gonna visit you later if I’m in detention for being late?” Eren pointed out reasonably and Levi looked back up at him, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Ya goin’ later?” he said, a concerned crease forming between his eyebrows when Eren nodded. “Ya sure?”

“Yeah,” he replied, smiling slightly as Levi stood up properly; the crease completely smoothed out.

“See ya in a bit then,” Levi said as Eren stood up and headed for the door.

“Yeah, bye.” He turned back towards Levi, but found that the smaller man had already gone: he paused for a moment, chewing at his lip and letting out a sigh.

The rest of the school day seemed to drag on forever; the whispers, the laughter, the squeak of the pen on the whiteboard. The only good thing to be said was that the teachers seemed to be listening to his parent’s request not to ask him questions in class.

When the bell rang and the teacher dismissed them Eren was out of the classroom before most people had even registered that the school day had finished. He went straight to his locker, dumping some of the books he wouldn’t need and taking his umbrella out just in case; it was a twenty minute walk from school, but it was in the opposite direction from his house and he wasn’t going to risk it on the hope it wouldn’t rain. As it turned out, it was a good decision – he’d been walking no more than five minutes when he felt the first drop and by the time he left the flower shop down the road the rain was beating relentlessly onto the pavement.

“Ya gonna hold that for me too?” asked Levi, appearing next to Eren as he put up his umbrella.

“Can you even get wet?” he said, scrunching up his nose in confusion, but swapping hands so the both of them were covered from the rain.

“I dunno, but I ain’t riskin’ it; what if I’m stuck in wet clothes for fuckin’ ever?” Eren shrugged, thinking that considering Levi was wearing the same clothes he’d been wearing since Eren had first imagined him, it was probably a reasonable worry. Levi's eyes zeroed in on the bag hanging around Eren’s wrist and he looked up at the brunet with narrowed eyes. “Ya bought flowers?” he asked and Eren wasn’t sure if he sounded disgusted or just surprised.

“Yeah, is that a problem?” Levi shrugged, looking away from Eren and instead focussing on the water that was running off the edge of the umbrella like a waterfall.

“Guess not,” he said eventually, his voice so quiet that Eren barely heard him over the sound of the rain.

They walked on in silence for a while, Eren feeling weighed down by the prospect of their visit and wondering whether Levi felt the same. Could Levi feel the same? He was a figment of Eren’s own imagination, but really he felt like so much more; he felt like everything Eren had lost.

“S’fuckin’ cold,” grumbled Levi, shoving his hand into one of the pocket of Eren’s zip up hoodie.

“Really?” asked Eren exasperatedly but the smaller boy just shrugged moving so their shoulders were pressed firmly together. “Stop leaching my heat,” he complained, but made no effort to enforce his words; it felt nice really, someone else’s warmth merging with his own.

The two slowed down as they approached the gates until they were both standing stock still and staring in at the rows of stone, the rain had begun to lighten up against the umbrella above them.

“Are you staying here?” Eren asked eventually, his voice quiet, but Levi heard him.

“Well I ain’t runnin’ off nowhere,” replied the smaller boy and the brunet huffed.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” he said, his exasperation overshadowed by worry but Levi was refusing to look at him properly. “You don’t have to-”

“S’fine I’ll go with ya,” Levi cut him off and Eren nodded, closing the umbrella and hanging the cord around his wrist so it swung gently against the bag of flowers. He hesitated a moment before putting his hand inside his pocket, intertwining his fingers with Levi’s and giving the other boy’s hand a soft squeeze before the two walked on together. They passed name after name, a heaviness forming in Eren’s stomach that was countered by the feeling of Levi’s hand in his own.

Eren knew exactly where he was going, didn’t have to search the way he’d had to the first few times, instead he walked slowly and surely along the small concrete path that wound through the grass. He wasn’t sure he wanted to arrive – was half tempted to turn back – but before he could act on it they were there. Levi’s hand tightened around his own as they stared down at the stone before them.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF  
Levi Ackerman  
2003-2012  
The brightest star has gone out.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading; any feedback would be appreciated 
> 
> All my ereri fics [[here](http://oh-my-levi.tumblr.com/fanfic)]  
> Send me prompts [[here](http://oh-my-levi.tumblr.com/ask)]


End file.
